“One of the things we wanted to do with this newly renovated facility is embrace the NASCAR community and we thought since the Pit Crew Challenge has been cancelled this year we would put something fun together for the crew guys and their families,”  remarked Bob Lutz, Driving 101’s CEO and owner of The SPEEDPARK at Concord Mills.  MRO CEO Billy Mauldin added, “Any time we can get the members of racing community for a evening of fellowship and family fun we are always willing to lend our support.”

The Pit Crew Showdown will feature teams made up of crew members as well as family members (wives/girlfriends/or female employees and children) competing for the “championship.” There will also be an All-Star Go-Kart Race with current and former NASCAR stars, and a MEDIA CHALLENGE, for members of the media who want to show off their driving skills!

Included in the grand opening event will be kids racing and a Mini-Golf tournament for the families, as well as food and refreshments available for all in attendance. There will also be a fan viewing area for the public to take part in the all-star action.

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About Driving 101:

Driving 101 is the leading experiential racing company in North America owning and operating the NASCAR Racing Experience, the Mario Andretti Racing experience, Myrtle Beach Speedway and The SPEEDPARK at Concord Mills.   Offering the most realistic racing programs available to NASCAR and Open Wheeled racing fans Nationwide, Driving 101 programs are conducted at over 12 racetracks across the United States and offer a vast array of corporate outings and motorsports themed events.  For more information visit www.thespeedpark.com

About Motor Racing Outreach:

Celebrating its 25^th anniversary this year Motor Racing Outreach is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization founded in 1988 originally to serve the NASCAR racing community. (www.go2mro.com)

Almost 100 folks from the motorsports industry enjoyed door priz es, each other, and good food. Host Ray treated us to a preview of his upcoming cable show, Americarna. It’s a program following a real American Car guy, NASCAR racing champion Ray Evernham, and his crew as they  scour weathered barns, garages, junkyards and even basements for hidden historic racing cars, classic cars, folklore and automotive legends — all in the pursuit of authentic AmeriCARna. It will air on Velocity next January. See a teaser here. 

Join us for the next NCMA mixer…watch your emails for upcoming events.

A large part of its business comes from NASCAR Cup teams, and it enjoys 20 percent of that market. In Nationwide, JRi has 70 percent of that market and 70 percent of the Truck market as well. It also serves the NASCAR K&N series’ teams.

JRi also offers outsourcing to teams that don’t have their own shock specialist.  JRi staff assists at track, and make sure each team stays within the legalities of the particular series in which they are competing.

Each specific type of shock has a market manager and two builders. There are pre-assemblers as well as parts staff and shippers in the shop. 

To see the entire product range, visit JRi here.

Corinne Economaki

 Two and a half decades ago, Bruce was selling high-end automobiles, and sold one to a gentleman who owned a race team. After attending an event with his new customer, Bruce had an idea…which ultimately led to Bruce’s first product, a scanner headset. One. Yes, he built one. Now, Racing Electronics offers lots more products, making RE North America’s largest supplier of its kind. RE is also the exclusive vendor to International Speedway Corp. race tracks.

The company services two distinct markets: professionals in the motorsports industry and fans. RE is the official radio of the NHRA, ARCA, Indy Car, ACT, PASS and more series. RE boasts building almost all its own product line, with some electronic work still being completed overseas. It is also capable of large-scale event rentals of 700 to 1,000 radios for entities that don’t have their own supply. RE keeps a 3,000-4,000-piece rental inventory in working order.

It is the place to go and have your custom earbuds made. The “ear lab” has three full-time employees, and it busy, busy, busy. A custom pair, for your Ipod or phone or helmet, can be had for $130. You just have to get squishy stuff squirted in your ear.

RE has 70 employees, 40 of which are full time. Customers can shop at the Concord location, on line, by phone, or at track. The RE website also lets fans know where its trailer will be at any given race. To learn more, visit RE here.

Corinne Economaki

Now, 20 years later, he has it down to a science. As a member of the Auctioneers Association of North Carolina, and licensed in three states, Ron is all about doing it right.

His shop in Denver is home to collectibles (his own) and parts coming up for auction. There is an auction on site every seven weeks or so. The next one is April 13. Check the website here for more details.

Ron and his wife Carol run the business, including the social media aspects. Once he takes on parts, everything is sold. Everything. Ron says the only item that can’t be recycled is carbon fiber. All else is sold for use, or scrap.

Most race teams in the area have bins that fill up with parts earmarked for auction. Ron picks them up, and they are stringently catalogued and stored until the next auction. Ron will also pick up anything else teams want sold, and to that end he has seven trailers and two tractors to facilitate transportation to his shop.

Each auction attracts between 250 and 300 potential buyers and in addition to the auctions in Denver, Ron will also conduct on-site auctions if there is a need.

Corinne Economaki

One of the classes offered is a certificate program in motorsports. Run by Laurie Walker and Jeff Kirby, students spend one semester learning about motorsports in general and hands-on fabrication and welding.

Students have ranged in age from 16 to 67, and concentrate on mig and tig welding, chassis fabrication and sheet metal. When completed, students hope to find work in entry-level positions at fabrication shops, or within the HVAC industry.

Kirby has been at CPCC for 15 years, and has taught auto body and heavy equipment classes. His knowledge helps students with direction and possibilities as they move on in their careers.

Walker is the face of the program, always promoting, always looking for internships for her students and for advisors within the motorsports industry. Walker credits Rick Hendrick for his help; he donated funds for the Joe Hendrick Center for Automotive Training, which trains CPCC students in automotive technology.

To learn more about CPCC, visit here.

Corinne Economaki

Open every day, you can rent a kart and practice your skills, bring your own kart to drive, buy a kart and even garage your kart at the facility so it’s ready to go any time you are.

The 7/10-mile grand-prix style kart track is based on the world-famous Kartdromo Parma in Italy and is built to Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) standards.

That’s a good thing because it means that real, bona fide racing can – and will – take place here.

Race against yourself or others or bring your staff for team building or corporate clients for an afternoon of hospitality; whatever you want can be provided by the sales staff at the Motorplex.

The day of the grand opening (the track has been open six months – long enough for most of the garages to be rented) there was real racing and to no surprise,

NASCAR’s Denny Hamlin (pictured) took home top honors. Scott Speed, another Cup driver, claimed hardware in another division.

All in all, 58 drivers participated in four divisions after the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

To see if you might like kart driving, $25 will buy you a few laps around the track. After that, the sky’s the limit! Take a peek for yourself here and plan a visit to the Mooresville Motorplex soon. It’s fun!

Corinne Economaki

That slogan appeared on the shirt of many of the more than 250 eighth graders gathered at Rockingham Dragway March 2. The students braved cold temperatures and occasional snow flurries to participate in the second year of the BioMoto Capstone Competition, which included a pit crew challenge and a student-designed invention event. Despite the less than ideal weather, the excitement was evident as the kids cheered each other on during the tire-changing competition.

The BioMoto STEM Challenge was formed as part of a three-year grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation grant to give middle schoolers a chance to see science through a motorsports’ perspective.

The North Carolina Biotechnology Center, in conjunction with dozens of industry partners including the North Carolina Motorsports Association, created the BioMoto STEM Challenge capitalizes on the allure of motorsports to entice students to learn about STEM disciplines while focusing on fun, challenging and innovative activities focused on health, nutrition and human performance

Thirty-one teams from Cabarrus County, Kannapolis, Richmond County and Rowan-Salisbury participated in the pit crew challenge which included a simulated, timed pit stop with a real stock car. The event wass the culmination of the two-semester educational initiative which included fitness testing at the Appalachian State University Human Performance Lab at the North Carolina Research Campus where students learned about fitness and nutrition as it pertains to an athlete’s performance.

More than 1,500 students from at least 12 North Carolina school districts are expected to have participated in BioMoto STEM Challenge by its completion. Learn more about the BioMoto Stem Challenge here.

Haven Kerchner

Lead2 Real Estate Group consists of Boston Reid and Frank Bolter. Formed in 2011 after the two saw a need for a different kind of real estate representation, the two have made a name for themselves in the motorsports arena.

They met at a race track (both have motorsports in their backgrounds) and Frank was looking for investment properties. One thing led to another, and they partnered, with Boston the licensed real estate agent, and Frank the marketing brains.

They take a different approach for sellers and buyers. They believe their marketing is better than average – they hire a professional photographer to come and document the properties for sale. And they are compulsively detail oriented, which they say transfers to more sales.

The clientele they serve is 50-50 buyers and sellers, and in two short years they have enjoyed repeat business. The two use an arsenal of professionals (attorneys, appraisers, mortgage lenders, inspectors and pest eradicators) to ensure that all sales and purchases go smoothly.

Lead2′s business encompasses buying, selling, residential, commercial, rental income, and house flipping. Their NCMA involvement is important as they would like to be your resource for any and all real estate questions you might have, no obligation. They want to be your go-to team for real estate.

Contact Boston at 704-975-6742, or Frank at 704-791-9020 with your real estate questions.

Corinne Economaki

The Charlotte Convention Center will be the new home for the show put on ‘By Racers, For Racers.’ The 280,000 square foot convention center located in downtown Charlotte will provide a permanent home for the event, which has gained tremendous popularity in just two short years.

“We are very excited about the opportunity of brining a true industry show to Charlotte, North Carolina,” said CARS Clint Elkins. “Charlotte is the motorsports capital of the world and we are blessed to be partnering with such an established venue, such as the Charlotte Convention Center. We have reached out to some industry representatives about our move to Charlotte and the feedback has been phenomenal,” added Elkins. “CARS is more than a trade show, it’s an event and with all that Charlotte has to offer this will certainly be a staple in the industry for years to come.”

The Hickory Metro Convention Center in Hickory, NC has been the site of the first two CARS events. CARS has rapidly grown to fill the 84,000 convention center to capacity so when show officials began to look at other cities, Charlotte was the natural fit.

“With a heritage that runs more than 80 years deep and an economic impact that generates over $5 billion annually, we know what an integral industry motorsports is to the Charlotte region,” said Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx who spoke at the press conference held at the NASAR Hall of Fame on Wednesday afternoon.

Early projections show as much as a 12 million dollar economic impact to the city of Charlotte in the first year. CARS has been attended by close to 10,000 people over the last two years from 31 states.

“This will further strengthen the Charlotte area’s claim as the real center of racing,” said famed racing promoter and Humpy Wheeler. “By bringing an already established show to Charlotte we think the financial numbers can double as we expect an economic impact to be over 50 million dollars in the next decade,” said Wheeler.

The Charlotte Convention Center also houses a 35,000 square foot ball room and is connect via a an over-street walkway to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The famed crown ball room is part of the Hall of Fame and features a 40,00 square foot banquet room.

“We’re excited to see such an important piece of business make the move to Charlotte. CARS will have a fitting home since our region is packed with an incredible motorsports heritage and assets like the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Charlotte Motor Speedway and a majority of NASCAR racing teams that illustrate the industry’s impact here,” says NASCAR Hall of Fame Director of Sales Lauri Eberhart.

The CARS staff is made up from a diverse form of motorsports representatives, with decades of racing experience. Many more announcements will be made in the coming weeks concerning details for the 3rd Annual event December 5-7, 2013.